Tribuddies are so cool

[Bluetree]

I love my tribuddies/mentors, the three guys who have adopted me as their "Leetle Seester" and I hope every new triathlete has at least one. This morning, David took me out for my first substantial climbing ride: long sustained grades, deceptive rollers, 11% rises, switchbacks, hairpin descents, you name it.

On the long climbs, he kept a close eye on my heart rate, telling me when to ease up or pick up the pace. On the switchbacks, he showed where to apply pressure to get the maximum ascent out of each effort. On the scary descents, he showed me "the line" to take to keep my braking at a minimum. On the rollers, he again watched my heart rate to teach me the race pace I should be going at, while still saving enough for the run.
And when I didn't think I could do one more climb, he encouraged me to do the whole loop AGAIN, which I surprised myself by finishing. All in all, 44 miles and about 4,000 ft. in a little over 4 hours.

David's training for Ironman, so it wasn't the workout for him as it was for me (plus, he was riding his fixie instead of his road bike). But I am so grateful... and tired... I don't know what else to say. Except that it's really, really wonderful to have friends support you that way. :D :D :D

[Tri Girl]

Wow- killer ride!!! Way to go, girl!
It IS nice to have tribuddies! They push you, pull you, and are cheering you on all the way. Glad you found a group that's taken to molding you into a little tri-monster. ;)

[Bluetree]

Yeah, and it's really weird following someone on a descent who is pedalling like mad. He was on a fixie, so there was no coasting!

[Tri Girl]

Ok- stupid question. Why can't you coast on a fixed gear? Is it because the pedals move when you're speeding downhill. Sorry such a dumb question, but I've never seen anyone riding a fixie or seen any of the velodrome races (there aren't any for hundreds- or thousands- of miles around here).

I'll bet that WAS weird, tho! Scary going down those descents, huh? The TDF boys sure make it look easy!

Did you enjoy the tour de California? You'll have to tell all about it (unless you already have and I've missed it- been away a while).

[Grog]

Ok- stupid question. Why can't you coast on a fixed gear? Is it because the pedals move when you're speeding downhill. Sorry such a dumb question, but I've never seen anyone riding a fixie or seen any of the velodrome races (there aren't any for hundreds- or thousands- of miles around here).

A "fixie" is a "fixed gear". No free wheel. Picture your pedals directly fixed to the rear wheel. (They are actually indirectly fixed but the image works I think.)

So as the wheel turns faster... you must pedal faster... and to slow down, well, you need really strong legs!!!!

I have never ridden a fixie and I would never ride one on real descents. I'd call it borderline dangerous...

[Bluetree]

Ok- stupid question. Why can't you coast on a fixed gear? Is it because the pedals move when you're speeding downhill. Sorry such a dumb question, but I've never seen anyone riding a fixie or seen any of the velodrome races (there aren't any for hundreds- or thousands- of miles around here).

I'll bet that WAS weird, tho! Scary going down those descents, huh? The TDF boys sure make it look easy!

Did you enjoy the tour de California? You'll have to tell all about it (unless you already have and I've missed it- been away a while).

Tanya, yeah, you have to be superstrong to ride a fixie in the mountains, and I won't sugarcoat it... it IS dangerous, as Grog said. Esp. since a lot of fixie riders can get very macho and refuse to put a brake on their bike. I nagged and badgered my friend until he relented and put a brake on. He still doesn't use it much, but at least it's there.

Riding a fixie is like having one gear or level on a spin bike, set at a pretty high resistance. Pedal faster to go faster, to slow you have to pedal forward, yet apply backwards pressure to slow down your forward momentum (kinda hard to describe). Like I said, you have to be pretty strong. David has to slow gradually at the end of a descent, so at a certain point he waves me past and I fly down the hill by myself. Then I wait anxiously at the bottom for him, hoping he didn't crash and comes around that last bend. There is a certain mentality when it comes to fixie riders, and the few I know are devout about it. I value my life too much to ride one on the road, much less a mountain. :rolleyes:

BTW, I did post note about my tour weekend:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=13707

And my experience with a bike from a Neutral Race Support team:
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=13689

Had a blast! And I actually touched Paolo Bettini! And another thing... during the final stage of the Tour, which was a 70 mile circuit race, a breakaway got away early and led for almost the entire race. A few laps to go, the peloton cranked it us and started chasing. They were going so freakin' fast!!! The best part was when the peloton swallowed up the last lone rider of the breakaway... right in front of us! It was an incredible thing to see. It was like watching a huge, humming swarm of colorful bees swallowing someone up. It was merciless. I'll never forget that sight.

[KSH]

Well, BT you are VERY LUCKY to have such a nice friend. I have yet to find someone so nice around my area! In fact, all the fast guys pretty much ignore my slow butt. I guess being cute only goes so far ;) .

I hope you have told him how much you appreciate his help. He might even get a kick out of reading this thread?

[Wahine]

Blue - It's so cool that you have friends like that. That sounds like a helluva ride. I used to have tri buddies like that in Edmonton. Here in the Gorge it's hard to find triathletes at all, let alone ones that follow structured programs and are training for Ironman. I feel pretty lonely. As it is I'm trying to convince people to ride with me in a "tag team" manner. No one wants to ride for as long as I do. So maybe I can get someone to ride with me for 2 hours, then I can pick-up someone else for the next 2 hours...

When I first read your post, I thought, "Wow, it'll be great to ride with Blue and her friends the next time I'm in LA." That has now changed to, "I'm not so sure I can keep up with Blue and her friends on all those hills". I'm still working on getting some hill power and I need to improve my power to weight ratio. :eek:

[Tri Girl]

Ahhh... now I get a fixed gear bike. Sounds crazy to me... :p

Great race reports- loved reading them!

[Starfish]

Blue - Here in the Gorge it's hard to find triathletes at all, let alone ones that follow structured programs and are training for Ironman. I feel pretty lonely. :

Hey Wahine, I don't know where on the gorge you are, but I am up here on the Olympic Peninsula, and I know some super nice folks who are training for the Canadian IM in August.

If you ever want to consider a weekend ride up here with some fellow IM women (& guys), let me know. I can likely hook you up. (And, we have a nice 110 mile ride up here on May 20...the Olympic Cycling Classic.)

[Wahine]

Hey Wahine, I don't know where on the gorge you are, but I am up here on the Olympic Peninsula, and I know some super nice folks who are training for the Canadian IM in August.

If you ever want to consider a weekend ride up here with some fellow IM women (& guys), let me know. I can likely hook you up. (And, we have a nice 110 mile ride up here on May 20...the Olympic Cycling Classic.)

Hhhmmmmmm. Very interesting. I'll hae to keep this in mind. I'll let you know if I'm headed your way.

[midlife]

Hey Bluetree, I hear ya - on about my second road ride (6-7 years ago) I rode with a guy who was in his mid 50's. He was an experienced cyclist (had raced veterans) and was into triathlon. I couldn't have got thru the ride without him and his help, encouragement and tips. It was a very hot day and I started to feel sick - he let me ride his wheel most of the way back, offered me the last of his water and encouraged me all the way. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I could have done it. He gave me self belief and it was a turning point for me mentally with cycling.

2 years ago I had the priviledge of watching him finish his first Ironman at age 60. It was a long wait out on the course a couple of kms from the finishline to cheer him on and then we drove to the finish and his mates all formed an archway as he trotted towards the lights. Unknown to us at that stage, he knew he had health issues. Turns out he had cancer and has spent 18 months undergoing treatment. He's back training gently now and keen to ride with us girls again! Go Kenny. Oh and yeah he finished IM with about 30 mins to cutoff - and in Australia that is 15 hours. We are tough out here;)

I also have a wonderful training partner who I have run and ridden with for aobut 6 years and some of the older guys at our club are just brilliant company. Always laughing and stirring each other. Makes the kms fly by. I'm blessed!

[Starfish]

Hhhmmmmmm. Very interesting. I'll hae to keep this in mind. I'll let you know if I'm headed your way.

Just PM me if you want any info on our rides, etc.